The collected prayers, sermons, and spiritual musings of an Episcopal priest

Monday, January 16, 2012

The Prophetic Call: The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

"The church has an opportunity and a duty to lift up its voice like a trumpet and declare unto the people the immorality of segregation. It must affirm that every human life is a reflection of divinity, and that every act of injustice mars and defaces the image of God in man. The undergirding philosophy of segregation is diametrically opposed to the undergirding philosophy of our Judeo-Christian heritage, and all the dialectics of the logicians cannot make them lie down together.

But declarations against segregation, however sincere, are not enough. The church must take the lead in social reform. It must move out into the arena of life and do battle for the sanctity of religious commitments. And it must lead men along the path of true integration, something the law cannot do."
-- The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)